4th–5th century
Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo
Bishop of Hippo in North Africa and son of Saint Monica, who was baptised in Milan and became one of the most influential theologians of the West.
Biography
Augustine was born in 354 in Thagaste, Numidia, in North Africa, the son of the devout Christian Monica and the pagan Patricius. He studied at Madaura and Carthage and in his youth followed Manichaeism.
In Milan, through his mother's prayers, his own study of Scripture and the preaching of Bishop Ambrose, he embraced Christianity and was baptised in 386 together with his son Adeodatus.
He returned to Africa, was ordained a priest at Hippo in 391, and in 396 became bishop of the city, a post he held for 34 years. He left a vast body of theological work and died in 430, at the age of 76.